March 11, 2010

In August I had made a file of pictures from our trip to prepare a slide show to easily present to people our trip of Africa. I look at those pictures now and the large majority of the pictures are those of the animals and the safari. But now those days on safari are all one. Seeing the animals and experiencing the Serengeti was a fantastic experience for our family; and the actual experience really inspired feelings of awe at just how diverse and wonderful this planet and its creatures are. We had a great time being a small family unit, traveling around in the jeep day after day. Not one of us ever got bored of seeing the lions, wildebeests, zebras etc. It was a fantastic week. But, now that Joe is gone the safari is second to the time that we spent with him at his site and revisiting the places that he had been during his time in Tanzania.

back down the plateau

As we walked back down the plateau, we stopped at the German missionary pool for a swim. When I went to visit Joe on October 11, 2006 - the day after his 21st bday; I told him that it was crazy to join the peace corp. He had never really liked to go too far from home, he loved playing his music for hours at a time and his favorite sport was swimming. Where was he going to play the piano and swim in the peace corp. Well Ndanda has a spring that comes from the plateau down the hillside and into a pool. On the way down the hillside, the German missionaries have engineered a purification system to provide water for most of southern Tanzania (at a cost), and some of the water is diverted to a pool. The pool is beautiful and Joseph swam there a couple of times a week (except during the rainy season when the pool got roiled up and there was alot of scum in the water).

As we walked down the path to Joe's house that night it was dusk. The boys had run ahead so it was just Ray and I and it was very beautiful and quiet -but a different world.